Charles and Philip clash again

Another row between Prince Philip and Prince Charles was last night threatening to overshadow the Duke of Edinburgh's 80th birthday celebrations.

It erupted after an astonishingly inept last-minute move to 'disinvite' Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, from tomorrow's thanksgiving service and reception at Windsor Castle.

Mr Burrell - who is on police bail as detectives investigate allegations that £6million worth of Diana's possessions went missing from her Kensington Palace apartments - was said to be 'deeply hurt' after being told not to turn up for the gathering weeks after he and his wife had formally accepted an invitation.

Prince Charles, who has made it clear that he would not support any moves to bring charges against the former servant, is furious. And it has triggered another row with his father just days after Buckingham Palace denied reports of a rift between the two men emanating from a new biography of Philip.

At one stage yesterday Charles was preparing to ask the Queen to have Mr Burrell's invitation reinstated.

The original invitation to 43-year-old Mr Burrell and his wife Maria, who worked as a maid to Philip, was seen as a show of support for the man Diana described as 'my rock'.

After checking with senior royal figures that their presence was sincerely wanted, the couple accepted.

They refused to comment last night. But the Daily Mail under-stands that three days ago they were contacted at their Cheshire home by Philip's private secretary, Brigadier Miles Hunt-Davies.

He told Mr Burrell that, after taking advice, officials now feared that because of media interest his presence might upstage the Duke's. He said Mr Burrell was being 'disinvited' but his wife would still be welcome. Friends of the butler described the conversation as 'doubly insulting'.

One said: 'First it is as though the Palace have decided he is guilty of whatever the police have been looking into, and then they say as compensation his wife can still go.'

They said the last thing the couple wanted was to embarrass the Queen or Duke.

The Daily Mail has established that no one objected to the invitation until this week, when Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Peat spotted their names on the guest list. He queried the invitation with Brig Hunt-Davies.

What is unclear is whether the officials acted after talking to the royals. Certainly Charles only learned of the 'disinvitation' afterwards.

He blames his father for inviting the Burrells without thinking it through.

The two have hardly spoken since a biography of Philip appeared last month, calling Charles 'precious, extravagant and lacking in the dedication and discipline . . . to make a good king'. Philip wrote to his son disassociating himself from the remarks but was furious when details of his letter were leaked.